Slavery In The Antebellum Period

In the 1700’s and 1800’s, the planter elite class of the American South conspired with both federal and state governments and other whites to institutionalize slavery in order to protect their economic and social power and way of life. Their efforts were generally wide spread, simple, blatant and generally very effective.

The Abolitionist movement during the Antebellum period, was a critical time in American history. The goal of this movement was to emancipate all slaves immediately, and end discrimination, as well as segregation. The brave men and women involved in this movement were called abolitionists and antislavery advocates. The antislavery advocates stood for freeing slaves gradually, and abolitionists wanted slavery gone immediately. No matter how fast, these people all wanted to spread opposition against slavery across the United States. Northern churches started liking this whole idea of abolishing slavery, which started conflict between the North and South. These arguments led up to the Civil War.

During the 19th century slavery was a very prominent and controversial issue between the north and the southern states. In the South, most people believed that slavery was a profitable way of life and if the slavery was to be abolished it would then affect their economy. On the hand the northern had different opinions about slavery and intended to stop it. The fact that the perception were different between the two led to a very difficult situation in resolving the issue.

Throughout the 1800s in America, slavery was a controversy between the north and the south. A Slave was one who was the property of another human being under law and was forced to obey them. The North felt that slavery was unfair and inhumane, whereas in the South, they felt as though slavery was crucial to their success. African American slaves were not allowed many rights: they were not allowed to testify in court against a white person, could not receive an education, or even sign contracts. Due to the brutality they faced each day, many slaves escaped with hopes to find freedom. The Underground Railroad, a system utilized by many runaway slaves to help them escape from the South to Canada, played a large role in the downfall of slavery and eventual abolition in the United States following the Civil War.

Cotton was the king of the South. It was bringing in large amounts of money as the textile industry in the North grew. Slavery was vital to the economic well-being of the South, and when the North began to question the “peculiar institution” of the South the wall of civility between the two sectionalized areas began to crumble. Due to the growing issue of slavery in the 1850s, the United States of America was in a state of total disarray and turmoil. The tension that had always existed between the North and South over the matter of slavery was no longer ignorable. As the United States expanded to the West, the status of slavery in the new states erupted in a violence that could no longer be controlled by sectionalism. The peace treaties that had worked in the past became Band-Aids over stab wounds. Southern states began to leave the United States of America to form the Confederate States of America and war was declared as the South fired onto the forts of the North. The Civil War was caused directly by the issue of slavery; the fugitive slave act in the Compromise of 1850, Dred Scott v. Sandford, and Bleeding Kansas prove that slavery was the key factor in the eruption of the nation.

Throughout American history slave has resist their master, the system and the idea of slavery. These resistance has became of a key stone in the history of slavery. To understand what these resistance is, we will look at incident of the past to analyze how slave in the past resisted their master, the system and the idea of slavery.

The Civil War, occurring between the years 1861 and 1865, was a devastating effect of sectionalism caused by the division of the country on the topic of slavery. Slavery impacted every aspect of the country, whether in the North or the South, though primarily in the South; major impacts were in the politics and economy of the early country ways which inevitably caused the Civil War.

Slavery was a very divided issue in early American history. It was the backbone of the southern economy and lifestyle, but also a immoral way to treat people that was contradictory to ideals which America liberated itself upon. Slavery continued to expand because of new economic growth, but many slaves were also freed from their bondage during this time because of religion and the new ideologies that America gained in becoming a country. Most slaves responded to these hardships hardship through active and passive resistance, whereas free African Americans became more outspoken and formed communities in response.

During the Antebellum period, with the emergence of the Second Great Awakening provoked lots of political and social reforms such as abolitionism and changes within the religion of Christianity. However, despite having all of these changes, the creation of the cotton gin was absolutely on of the more significant one because it created a more efficient way to produce cotton, thus needing more labor to operate such machinery. Therefore, whilst the antebellum period is occurring it caused a split of the North and the South for the sole reason of moral standing on the subject of slavery. The pro- slavery argument derived from the position on economic and political and social unity, however, the anti- slavery arguments were positioned on a religious and ethical standing. Furthermore, these arguments would result in women becoming more involved in politics by opposing the inequality of the rights given to them by man, and the split of Christianity in two section, one of the southern countrymen and the other of non- slave owning people by classifying southern countrymen as hypocritical to their religious beliefs.

Antebellum south had many issues, but one of the most pervasive of the time was the wide spread of disease and insufficient medical treatments. During that time the most widespread diseases included yellow fever, cholera, smallpox and malaria these diseases had almost a sixty percent mortality rate (“Antebellum Louisiana 1: Disease, Death and Mourning” ). Although medical advances and science were minimal there were attempts and different practices in attempt to heal the sick. Methods of treatment included different techniques, some dabbled with herbs, others bleed and other yet relied on ancestor and religious spirits. Slave owners did not seek physician treatment for slaves unusually it was dire thus leading to the slave community taking

Antebellum slavery was an economic institution but it was more social and cultural because of the power it gave the white population during the antebellum era. Slavery was shown as social and cultural in the violent sadism exemplified by the slave masters/mistresses and overseers, slaves were dehumanized and seen as inferior because of their race, and in the way that religion was a tool used to not only justify slavery but also to train the enslaved. During the antebellum period, seeing slaves be tortured or beaten/punished was a common thing. In Frederick Douglass’s autobiography, Narrative of the life OF Frederick Douglass: An American Slave, Douglass detailed many different accounts of horrible brutality against enslaved people.

Throughout the Antebellum Period, masters and slaves had a relationship similar to an owner and a piece of equipment today. Society viewed slaves as objects and the legal system viewed slaves as property of their owners. In State v. Mann, a case in which John Mann shot and injured Elizabeth Jones’ slave, Lydia. Mann had hired Lydia for a year. Judge Ruffin wrote, “The power of the master must be absolute, render the submission of the slave perfect.” This shows that planters believed that violence and complete power was the key to maintaining slavery, but rather this ideology accelerated slave resistance and Northern abolitionism, ultimately leading up to emancipation. The extent to which slave owners oppressed their slaves made it inevitable that slaves would attempt an escape or openly revolt against their masters, as well as spark abolitionist ideas in the North.

While slavery was a horrific thing that led to the mistreatment of millions of black people, it had the power to last for centuries. When looking closely at historical accounts it becomes easier to see why this horrible practice was able to sustain for so long. One of the reasons was because the economy of Colonial America relied heavily on the labor of slaves. Farming, the slave trade itself, and the harsh treatment of slaves were all driven by the greed of slave owners. Another reason that slavery lasted so long was racism. During this time, the black population was considered inferior to the white population. This helped to promote the cruel behaviors that occurred in slavery. Lastly, many whites actually felt that the slaves were treated

In 1830 slavery was originally sited in the South, where it lives in various structures. African Americans were imprisoned on diminutive farms, big plantations, in cities and towns, within homes, outside the fields, and in industry and transportation. Even if slavery had such a great series of faces, the fundamental concepts were always similar. Slaves were considered possessions, and they were possessions for the reason that they were black. Their rank as property was inflicted by aggression actual or threatened. People, black and white, lived jointly within these limits, and their lives as one took a lot of forms (Solomon, 1855).

In the early part of the nineteenth century, many Americans believed that the institution of slavery would soon die out of its own status. However, it was just about to undergo a profound change that would make it the leading factor of the economy of the Antebellum Era, or the period falling between 1810 and the American Civil War. The Slave life varied greatly depending on many factors. Life on the fields meant working sunup to sundown seven days a week and having food sometimes not suitable for an animal to eat. Plantation slaves lived in small shacks with a dirt floor and little or no furniture. Life on large plantations with a cruel overseer was oftentimes the worst. However, work for a small farm owner who was not doing well could mean not being fed at all.